OHO Joint Venture

OHO Joint Venture: Atelier Frei Otto; Büro Happold; Omrania was created in 1980 for a one-time endeavour that combined two entries of a limited architecture competition submitted by Omrania Architects and Atelier Frei Otto with the structural engineering firm Büro Happold. Omrania Architects, Planners, and Engineers was established in 1973 by Messrs. Basem Al-Shihabi and Nabil Fanous in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and has undertaken town planning, architecture, and project management throughout the Middle East. Frei Otto is a pioneer in the building of modern tensile architecture. His innovations in form, materials, structure, and testing techniques have been recognised by numerous awards, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1980, the International Design Award in 1982, the Honda Prize in 1990, and the Wekbund Preis in 1992. Mr. Otto has lectured and taught at many institutions in Germany and abroad. The late Edmund Happold established Büro Happold when he left Ove Arup & Partners to direct the School of Architecture and Engineering in Bath, England, in 1976. The office specialises in light, inflatable, and suspended structures. Büro Happold has collaborated with many renowned architects including Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.